Scott Burns involved in co. offering DFA funds

[kevink]

I don't think I'm alone on this board in finding Scott Burns to be one of the few finance columnists worth reading consistently. This site has many current and archived columns, but more interestingly is a new-ish (2006) investment adviser he's involved in as co-principal.

AssetBuilder, Inc.

It's fun to poke around the site and take the investment quiz. The portfolios are all DFA funds, and the asking fees are among the lowest I have seen for access to DFA. Some negatives, too - at least in my book (portfolios "backtested" to 1999 don't inspire confidence - and too many marketing folks, too few finance pros on the payroll) but it's intriguing and Burns' writing is great as always.

[LOL!]

You should know that all advisor fees are negotiable and that goes for DFA-sanctioned advisors as well. I think assetbuilder may allow lower balance folks a chance at DFA, but their fees were not even close to the lowest ones I've seen.

[kevink]

I don't pretend to know the full range of fees charged, but did do a fair amount of research (spurred by the DFA-based portfolios in ESRBob's excellent book), and found very few folks charging less than 1% of assets.
Evanson and Associates was - and is - one noteworthy exception, but does generally require 1M in assets.

Here's the fee chart from Asset Builder:

AssetBuilder’s fee table Amount of Assets Invested Annual Fee $ 5,000.00 - $ 49,999.99 .50 of one percent (50 basis points) $ 50,000.00 - $ 249,999.99 .45 of one percent (45 basis points) $ 250,000.00 - $ 599,999.99 .43 of one percent (43 basis points) $ 600,000.00 - $ 999,999.99 .40 of one percent (40 basis points) $1,000,000.00 - $3,999,999.99 .30 of one percent (30 basis points) $4,000,000.00 and above .25 of one percent (25 basis points)

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Quote:

I think assetbuilder may allow lower balance folks a chance at DFA, but their fees were not even close to the lowest ones I've seen.

Hola, LOL!,

Got a link? Who dat?

Cheers,

Gypsy

[LOL!]

Click on search. Enter "evanson" and you will see several posts where a handful of DFA providers are listed together. I even read that ifa.com was charging someone 0.25% instead of 1%. Everything is negotiable. What is $2000 on a $2 million portfolio?

[kevink]

Index Funds Advisors - ifa.com

[kevink]

Thanks, LOL, for the tips on searching past discussions re: access to DFA funds. Much more there than I recalled, and you're right: there are quite a few companies out there, some with quite low fees (though many do require well over 1M in assets).

I actually find it kind of hard to believe that assetbuilder.com is willing to deal with clients with $50,000, but more power to 'em! So I guess the value here is that low minimum as well as having someone as widely known as Burns involved in the operation.

Of the numerous companies you mentioned in an earlier post, I was especially intrigued by altruist.com, which helpfully lists a number of ETF and Vanguard alternatives to DFA funds that go beyond what I have seen elsewhere in helping do-it-yourselfers. I appreciate the value that advisers can add, for some people, but like many other posters here at the end of the day am pretty fixated on expenses and so appreciate what Vanguard funds and ETFs make possible.

Thanks for the education!

[LOL!]

The West Virgininia sponsored 529 plan also use DFA funds. So if you want to try things out, that's a possibility as well.

[saluki9]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevink I don't pretend to know the full range of fees charged, but did do a fair amount of research (spurred by the DFA-based portfolios in ESRBob's excellent book), and found very few folks charging less than 1% of assets. Evanson and Associates was - and is - one noteworthy exception, but does generally require 1M in assets. Here's the fee chart from Asset Builder: AssetBuilder’s fee table Amount of Assets Invested Annual Fee $ 5,000.00 - $ 49,999.99 .50 of one percent (50 basis points) $ 50,000.00 - $ 249,999.99 .45 of one percent (45 basis points) $ 250,000.00 - $ 599,999.99 .43 of one percent (43 basis points) $ 600,000.00 - $ 999,999.99 .40 of one percent (40 basis points) $1,000,000.00 - $3,999,999.99 .30 of one percent (30 basis points) $4,000,000.00 and above .25 of one percent (25 basis points)

His fee's are about wha the firm I work for charges. The difference being that there is no way most firms want anything to do with a $50K account.

Hopefully they are giving some other advice with that, otherwise that's a little rich.

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saluki9 His fee's are about wha the firm I work for charges. The difference being that there is no way most firms want anything to do with a $50K account. Hopefully they are giving some other advice with that, otherwise that's a little rich.

I think it's a secondary stream of income to enhance Scott Burn's retirement accounts............

$50,000 accounts don't seem worth the DFA "bootcamp" pain............